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Since my machine wouldn't even start, instead of using my favorite online hardware vendor (we likes the Newegg), I drove out to MicroCenter and purchased a replacement off the shelf so I wouldn't have to wait till next week to have a working computer again.
I really would have liked to drop an ATi 4870 in to replace the dead 2900, but MC didn't have any on the shelf. They did have a 3870 X2, but, no...just no. I don't do SLI or Crossfire setups, even when it's built onto the card instead of multiple card setups. ATi and Nvidia both have issues with their multi GPU setups, and I just don't have the patience to deal with that kind of crap.
The best bang for the buck was a GeForce 9800 GTX+, on sale for $50 off. So that's what I went with. I haven't had an Nvidia card in my desktop since I replaced my GeForce2 GTS long ago.
The Nvidia card is longer than the ATi card it replaced, and I had to pull the empty drive sleds out of the center drive bay. Fortunately, the P180B (identical to the P182 except it's black instead of dark gray) is extremely easy to do this kind of thing in. I love modular case designs.
Since my PCI x16 slot is only 1.2a and not 2.0, I can't actually use this card to its full potential, but it runs Crysis just fine so far.
Windows 7 rates the card identically with the older ATi card it replaced (maxed out for 2d/Aero, same result for 3d), so I'm guessing I'm hitting the bandwidth limit of the older PCI spec. Vista cuts off earlier for system ratings, and is maxed for both. Oddly enough, Win7 rates my HDDs at a 2.0, which I find hilarious since Vista rates them at max. I think Win7 might be a little buggy in that regard, but it is just a beta and I've only got it installed for testing, I haven't installed any actual software on it.
I really would have liked to drop an ATi 4870 in to replace the dead 2900, but MC didn't have any on the shelf. They did have a 3870 X2, but, no...just no. I don't do SLI or Crossfire setups, even when it's built onto the card instead of multiple card setups. ATi and Nvidia both have issues with their multi GPU setups, and I just don't have the patience to deal with that kind of crap.
The best bang for the buck was a GeForce 9800 GTX+, on sale for $50 off. So that's what I went with. I haven't had an Nvidia card in my desktop since I replaced my GeForce2 GTS long ago.
The Nvidia card is longer than the ATi card it replaced, and I had to pull the empty drive sleds out of the center drive bay. Fortunately, the P180B (identical to the P182 except it's black instead of dark gray) is extremely easy to do this kind of thing in. I love modular case designs.
Since my PCI x16 slot is only 1.2a and not 2.0, I can't actually use this card to its full potential, but it runs Crysis just fine so far.
Windows 7 rates the card identically with the older ATi card it replaced (maxed out for 2d/Aero, same result for 3d), so I'm guessing I'm hitting the bandwidth limit of the older PCI spec. Vista cuts off earlier for system ratings, and is maxed for both. Oddly enough, Win7 rates my HDDs at a 2.0, which I find hilarious since Vista rates them at max. I think Win7 might be a little buggy in that regard, but it is just a beta and I've only got it installed for testing, I haven't installed any actual software on it.